Top 100 most-cited scientists in Social Sciences

2025 single-year list · 100 authors, ranked by c-score excluding self-citations · all 6,698 in Social Sciences

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#	Author	Country	Subfield rank	c-score	Cites 2025	h	hm	Self-cit.	Papers	Active
1 #59 overall	Sweller, John UNSW Sydney	AUS	Education #1 · top <0.01%	4.692	6,615	29	21.3	1.5%	213	1972–2026
2 #61 overall	Mayer, Richard E. University of California, Santa Barbara	USA	Education #2 · top <0.01%	4.685	5,695	36	29.0	4.6%	485	1972–2026
3 #94 overall	Braun, Virginia University of Auckland	NZL	Gender Studies #1 · top 0.04%	4.596	41,906	25	13.7	0.1%	122	1997–2026
4 #95 overall	Geels, Frank W. Alliance Manchester Business School	GBR	Science Studies #1 · top 0.02%	4.583	4,629	31	23.4	3.1%	136	2000–2026
5 #105 overall	Bentler, Peter M. University of California, Los Angeles	USA	Social Sciences Methods #1 · top 0.03%	4.568	16,151	18	14.4	0.2%	374	1962–2026
6 #130 overall	Pekrun, Reinhard H. Australian Catholic University	AUS	Education #3 · top <0.01%	4.521	5,548	33	20.6	4.2%	246	1988–2026
7 #175 overall	Marsh, Herbert W. Australian Catholic University	AUS	Education #4 · top <0.01%	4.449	5,969	34	22.0	4.2%	497	1969–2026
8 #202 overall	Zimmerman, Barry J. City University	USA	Education #5 · top <0.01%	4.415	3,027	24	18.8	0.6%	125	1970–2023
9 #219 overall	CHIU, Thomas K.F. Chinese University of Hong Kong	HKG	Education #6 · top <0.01%	4.397	4,103	32	17.4	7.2%	127	2014–2026
10 #233 overall	Sunstein, Cass R. Harvard Law School	USA	Law #1 · top <0.01%	4.375	4,317	25	19.4	2.7%	442	1986–2026
11 #296 overall	Chen, Chaomei College of Computing & Informatics	USA	Information & Library Sciences #1 · top <0.01%	4.331	3,967	21	12.6	1.1%	209	1992–2025
12 #307 overall	Rosseel, Yves Universiteit Gent	BEL	Social Sciences Methods #2 · top 0.06%	4.324	4,967	14	9.3	1.5%	141	1996–2026
13 #335 overall	Liu, Yansui Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences	CHN	Geography #1 · top <0.01%	4.308	4,980	36	21.4	5.0%	357	1997–2026
14 #337 overall	Hainmueller, Jens Stanford University	USA	Political Science & Public Administration #2 · top <0.01%	4.307	3,973	26	13.7	0.9%	71	2006–2026
15 #351 overall	Preacher, Kristopher J. Vanderbilt University	USA	Social Sciences Methods #3 · top 0.09%	4.296	7,886	29	13.3	0.4%	121	2001–2026
16 #406 overall	Anselin, Luc E. The University of Chicago	USA	Geography #2 · top <0.01%	4.260	2,506	22	16.1	0.5%	169	1981–2026
17 #408 overall	Inglehart, Ronald F. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor	USA	Political Science & Public Administration #3 · top 0.01%	4.259	3,021	23	18.8	0.1%	157	1967–2024
18 #419 overall	Muthén, Bengt O. Mplus	USA	Social Sciences Methods #4 · top 0.12%	4.254	4,981	31	19.4	1.1%	146	1978–2026
19 #449 overall	Biesta, Gert J.J. Maynooth University	IRL	Education #7 · top <0.01%	4.236	2,395	21	18.0	2.9%	300	1994–2026
20 #471 overall	Hwang, Gwojen National Taichung University of Education	TWN	Education #8 · top <0.01%	4.226	6,311	34	22.3	5.2%	665	1990–2026
21 #473 overall	Ball, Stephen John UCL Institute of Education	GBR	Education #9 · top <0.01%	4.224	2,144	22	19.6	1.3%	249	1980–2026
22 #487 overall	Bollen, Kenneth Alan College of Arts and Sciences	USA	Social Sciences Methods #5 · top 0.15%	4.216	2,843	21	14.6	3.4%	193	1979–2026
23 #531 overall	Zembylas, Michalinos Open University of Cyprus	CYP	Education #10 · top <0.01%	4.197	1,938	21	19.0	7.0%	426	2000–2026
24 #538 overall	Boschma, Ron A. Universiteit Utrecht	NLD	Geography #3 · top 0.01%	4.192	2,646	25	17.9	4.4%	161	1997–2026
25 #589 overall	Reeve, Johnmarshall Australian Catholic University	AUS	Education #11 · top <0.01%	4.172	2,844	26	15.9	7.7%	132	1985–2026
26 #598 overall	Druckman, James N. University of Rochester	USA	Political Science & Public Administration #4 · top 0.01%	4.168	3,487	29	17.8	3.7%	206	1996–2026
27 #600 overall	Mudde, Cas E. University of Georgia	USA	Political Science & Public Administration #5 · top 0.02%	4.167	2,345	18	14.6	0.6%	95	1994–2026
28 #607 overall	Hattie, John Allan C. Faculty of Education	AUS	Education #12 · top 0.01%	4.166	3,568	19	12.0	1.6%	267	1975–2026
29 #608 overall	Howlett, Michael P. Simon Fraser University	CAN	Political Science & Public Administration #6 · top 0.02%	4.166	2,456	25	19.8	11.6%	390	1986–2026
30 #616 overall	Connell, Raewyn W. The University of Sydney	AUS	Sociology #1 · top <0.01%	4.162	2,047	19	17.9	1.7%	203	1965–2026
31 #668 overall	Selwyn, Neil Monash University	AUS	Education #14 · top 0.01%	4.144	2,057	24	18.6	1.8%	230	1996–2026
32 #669 overall	Ungar, Michael T. Dalhousie University	CAN	Developmental & Child Psychology #10 · top 0.04%	4.144	2,055	22	17.2	6.0%	225	1994–2026
33 #718 overall	Kitchin, Rob Maynooth University	IRL	Geography #4 · top 0.02%	4.126	1,961	21	16.3	2.2%	209	1993–2026
34 #748 overall	McNeish, Daniel M. Arizona State University	USA	Social Sciences Methods #8 · top 0.24%	4.115	1,949	21	15.9	3.6%	113	2014–2026
35 #763 overall	Hallinger, Philip Mahidol University	THA	Education #15 · top 0.01%	4.108	2,134	25	17.7	5.9%	232	1983–2026
36 #795 overall	Marginson, Simon University of Oxford	GBR	Education #16 · top 0.01%	4.100	1,401	22	19.0	3.9%	221	1989–2026
37 #800 overall	Bourdieu, Pierre École Pratique des Hautes Études	FRA	Sociology #2 · top 0.02%	4.099	1,412	19	17.5	0.1%	122	1966–2024
38 #812 overall	Schunk, Dale H. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro	USA	Education #17 · top 0.01%	4.095	1,760	22	18.0	0.4%	102	1980–2025
39 #814 overall	Ho, Yuhshan CT HO Trend	TWN	Science Studies #2 · top 0.04%	4.095	3,141	19	12.4	7.9%	404	1993–2026
40 #815 overall	Paas, Fred G.W.C. Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam	NLD	Education #18 · top 0.02%	4.095	4,208	28	15.3	4.9%	360	1990–2026
41 #831 overall	Darling-Hammond, Linda Stanford University	USA	Education #19 · top 0.02%	4.090	1,913	20	15.8	0.8%	176	1982–2025
42 #891 overall	Cronbach, Lee J. Stanford University	USA	Social Sciences Methods #9 · top 0.27%	4.073	2,916	11	8.7	0.0%	31	1939–2017
43 #913 overall	Hedges, Larry V. Northwestern University	USA	Education #20 · top 0.02%	4.069	5,669	24	14.9	1.1%	190	1978–2026
44 #916 overall	Waltman, Ludo Universiteit Leiden	NLD	Information & Library Sciences #2 · top 0.01%	4.069	8,014	21	12.9	0.5%	136	2005–2026
45 #985 overall	Panadero, Ernesto Dublin City University	IRL	Education #21 · top 0.02%	4.049	2,070	23	14.9	6.4%	110	2010–2026
46 #988 overall	Al-Adwan, Ahmad Samed Al-Ahliyya Amman University	JOR	Education #22 · top 0.02%	4.047	3,069	33	17.2	4.5%	131	2015–2026
47 #1,002 overall	Brubaker, Rogers University of California, Los Angeles	USA	Sociology #3 · top 0.02%	4.043	1,310	19	16.6	0.0%	66	1985–2026
48 #1,013 overall	Fang, Chuangling Lin University of Chinese Academy of Sciences	CHN	Geography #5 · top 0.02%	4.041	3,557	31	17.9	3.0%	324	1997–2025
49 #1,049 overall	Mignolo, Walter D. Duke University	USA	Literary Studies #1 · top <0.01%	4.032	1,590	14	14.0	0.0%	84	1992–2025
50 #1,060 overall	Burt, Ronald S. Università Bocconi	ITA	Sociology #4 · top 0.03%	4.030	1,812	18	15.9	0.6%	110	1973–2026
51 #1,081 overall	Hickel, Jason E. London School of Economics and Political Science	GBR	International Relations #1 · top 0.01%	4.026	1,978	22	13.1	4.3%	65	2012–2026
52 #1,085 overall	Nagin, Daniel S. Carnegie Mellon University	USA	Criminology #1 · top <0.01%	4.025	2,315	24	14.2	3.0%	229	1975–2026
53 #1,093 overall	Kwan, Mei Po Chinese University of Hong Kong	HKG	Geography #6 · top 0.03%	4.023	3,471	24	17.8	15.0%	493	1994–2026
54 #1,097 overall	Massey, Douglas S. Princeton University	USA	Sociology #5 · top 0.04%	4.022	2,140	20	14.6	0.4%	318	1976–2024
55 #1,114 overall	Latour, Bruno Médialab Sciences Po	FRA	Science Studies #3 · top 0.06%	4.020	1,599	16	13.9	0.4%	150	1982–2024
56 #1,123 overall	Teo, Timothy Chinese University of Hong Kong	HKG	Education #23 · top 0.02%	4.017	1,901	24	16.8	4.3%	224	2006–2026
57 #1,126 overall	Byrne, Barbara M. Université d'Ottawa, Faculté des Sciences Sociales	CAN	Social Sciences Methods #10 · top 0.30%	4.016	1,957	14	10.5	0.0%	67	1984–2021
58 #1,150 overall	Norris, Pippa Harvard University	USA	Political Science & Public Administration #7 · top 0.03%	4.011	1,542	19	15.2	0.2%	196	1984–2025
59 #1,203 overall	Gill, Rosalind M. Goldsmiths	GBR	Gender Studies #2 · top 0.07%	4.000	1,516	20	15.6	1.0%	113	1991–2026
60 #1,206 overall	Ladson-Billings, Gloria J. University of Wisconsin-Madison	USA	Education #24 · top 0.02%	4.000	1,383	15	14.5	0.1%	90	1990–2025
61 #1,209 overall	Martin, Andrew J. UNSW Sydney	AUS	Education #25 · top 0.02%	3.999	2,327	21	16.1	8.2%	322	1994–2026
62 #1,246 overall	Chan, Cecilia Ka Yuk The University of Hong Kong	HKG	Education #26 · top 0.02%	3.994	2,443	14	10.8	1.4%	100	2005–2026
63 #1,247 overall	Nussbaum, Martha Craven The University of Chicago	USA	Philosophy #3 · top 0.02%	3.993	1,349	16	15.5	0.1%	268	1976–2025
64 #1,256 overall	Boud, David J. University of Technology Sydney	AUS	Education #27 · top 0.02%	3.991	3,045	27	16.0	4.6%	264	1973–2026
65 #1,299 overall	Thelwall, Mike A. The University of Sheffield	GBR	Information & Library Sciences #3 · top 0.02%	3.985	2,533	21	13.8	4.3%	576	2000–2026
66 #1,303 overall	Portes, Alejandro Princeton University	USA	Sociology #6 · top 0.05%	3.985	1,653	16	14.8	0.3%	200	1968–2025
67 #1,306 overall	Wigfield, Allan University of Maryland, College Park	USA	Education #28 · top 0.02%	3.984	3,405	26	15.3	1.5%	135	1978–2026
68 #1,378 overall	Leydesdorff, Loet Universiteit van Amsterdam	NLD	Information & Library Sciences #4 · top 0.03%	3.974	2,451	21	13.8	2.5%	439	1980–2025
69 #1,380 overall	Butler, Judith E. Munster Technological University (MTU)	IRL	Literary Studies #2 · top <0.01%	3.974	1,488	13	13.0	0.0%	167	1988–2026
70 #1,394 overall	Sampson, Robert J. Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences	USA	Criminology #2 · top 0.01%	3.971	2,133	22	14.7	1.6%	181	1982–2026
71 #1,412 overall	Bornmann, Lutz Administrative Headquarters of the Max Planck Society	DEU	Information & Library Sciences #5 · top 0.03%	3.968	2,185	20	13.9	3.8%	437	2004–2026
72 #1,418 overall	Harvey, David The Graduate Center	USA	Geography #7 · top 0.03%	3.966	1,215	15	15.0	0.1%	99	1970–2025
73 #1,431 overall	Jasanoff, Sheila S. John F. Kennedy School of Government	USA	Science Studies #4 · top 0.08%	3.965	1,339	17	14.1	1.3%	158	1981–2025
74 #1,462 overall	Graham, Steve E. Arizona State University	USA	Education #29 · top 0.03%	3.960	2,196	24	13.9	7.9%	336	1978–2026
75 #1,474 overall	Carless, David Robert The University of Hong Kong	HKG	Education #30 · top 0.03%	3.957	1,629	20	14.8	2.2%	89	1995–2026
76 #1,490 overall	Brenner, Neil The University of Chicago	USA	Urban & Regional Planning #5 · top 0.03%	3.955	1,312	20	16.2	0.8%	84	1994–2025
77 #1,497 overall	Kaiser, Henry F. University of California, Berkeley	USA	Social Sciences Methods #11 · top 0.33%	3.953	2,920	7	7.0	0.0%	55	1956–1990
78 #1,502 overall	van Dijk, Jan Amg G.M. Universiteit Twente	NLD	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing #94 · top 0.02%	3.952	2,281	20	13.3	0.8%	77	2001–2026
79 #1,509 overall	Martin, Ron L. University of Cambridge	GBR	Geography #8 · top 0.04%	3.951	1,909	19	12.2	1.0%	186	1975–2026
80 #1,526 overall	Peck, Jamie A. The University of British Columbia	CAN	Geography #9 · top 0.04%	3.949	1,413	19	15.6	3.7%	204	1987–2025
81 #1,543 overall	Acharya, Amitav American University	USA	International Relations #2 · top 0.02%	3.946	1,117	17	15.8	1.2%	135	1988–2026
82 #1,586 overall	Escobar, Arturo The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	USA	Developmental Biology #41 · top 0.02%	3.939	1,264	15	13.9	1.1%	95	1984–2025
83 #1,591 overall	Fraser, Nancy The New School	USA	Political Science & Public Administration #8 · top 0.03%	3.938	1,043	16	16.0	0.3%	91	1987–2025
84 #1,609 overall	Gerring, John The University of Texas at Austin	USA	Political Science & Public Administration #9 · top 0.03%	3.935	1,597	18	12.6	1.1%	90	1997–2026
85 #1,640 overall	Sultana, Farhana Syracuse University	USA	Geography #10 · top 0.05%	3.930	1,135	16	15.3	1.7%	62	2000–2026
86 #1,676 overall	Charmaz, Kathy Sonoma State University	USA	Sociology #7 · top 0.06%	3.924	1,261	16	14.0	1.0%	71	1978–2025
87 #1,680 overall	Iyengar, Shanto Stanford University	USA	Political Science & Public Administration #10 · top 0.04%	3.923	2,802	23	11.7	1.9%	114	1974–2026
88 #1,698 overall	Swyngedouw, Erik A. The University of Manchester	GBR	Geography #11 · top 0.05%	3.921	1,328	19	15.6	2.9%	162	1988–2025
89 #1,711 overall	Moynihan, Donald P. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor	USA	Political Science & Public Administration #11 · top 0.04%	3.918	1,631	21	16.0	7.4%	162	2000–2026
90 #1,719 overall	Borgatti, Stephen P. University of Kentucky	USA	Sociology #8 · top 0.06%	3.917	2,010	23	11.6	0.8%	115	1988–2026
91 #1,765 overall	Kirschner, Paul A. Open Universiteit	NLD	Education #31 · top 0.03%	3.909	2,428	24	14.7	3.1%	346	1988–2026
92 #1,788 overall	Urry, John R. Department of Sociology, Lancaster University	GBR	Sociology #9 · top 0.07%	3.906	1,845	17	14.0	0.4%	179	1970–2023
93 #1,800 overall	Garrison, D. Randy University of Calgary	CAN	Education #32 · top 0.03%	3.903	1,828	19	12.0	0.2%	78	1985–2026
94 #1,808 overall	Bulkeley, Harriet A. Faculty of Social Sciences & Health	GBR	Urban & Regional Planning #7 · top 0.05%	3.902	1,833	24	14.1	3.3%	184	1997–2026
95 #1,843 overall	Enders, Craig K. University of California, Los Angeles	USA	Social Sciences Methods #12 · top 0.36%	3.897	1,727	16	12.9	1.7%	118	1996–2026
96 #1,859 overall	Imai, Kosuke Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences	USA	Statistics & Probability #28 · top 0.11%	3.895	3,841	24	12.8	1.6%	111	2004–2026
97 #1,886 overall	Peters, B. Guy University of Pittsburgh	USA	Political Science & Public Administration #12 · top 0.04%	3.891	1,322	20	14.4	4.1%	339	1972–2026
98 #1,889 overall	Williamson, Ben The University of Edinburgh	GBR	Education #33 · top 0.03%	3.890	1,300	19	13.7	3.4%	85	2013–2026
99 #1,896 overall	Uzzi, Brian Dondiego Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems	USA	Science Studies #6 · top 0.11%	3.889	1,990	20	10.8	2.8%	92	1990–2026
100 #1,940 overall	Pintrich, Paul R. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor	USA	Education #34 · top 0.03%	3.883	1,529	17	11.8	0.1%	59	1985–2023

# rank in the field by c-score (below: overall rank); Subfield rank rank and top % in main subfield; c-score composite citation score (0–6); Cites 2025 citations in 2025; h h-index; hm co-authorship-adjusted h-index; Self-cit. self-citation share; Active years of first and last paper.